Hopper-valve



(No Model.) v

C. STU-RM. HOPPB'R VALVE. No. 401,081. Patented Apr. 9, 1889.

ttorney Inventor Witnesses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN STURM, OF BUFFALO, NEV YORK.

HOPPER-VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,081, dated April 9,1889. Application filed Deoemlmr` 14, 1888. Serial No. 293 ,542. (N0model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN STURIvL'of Buffalo, in the-county of Erieand State of New York, have inventedk certain lnew and usefulImprovements in Hopper-Valves; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing description of my said invention, taken in connection with theaccompanying sheet of drawings, forms a full, clear, and exactspeciication, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My present invention has general reference to' hopper-valves forwater-closets; and it consists, essentially, in the novel combination ofparts and details of constructions, as hereinafter rst fully set forthand described, and then pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings already referred to, which serve to illustrate my saidinvention more fully, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improvedhopper-valve. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation in line y 1/of Fig. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation in line :c of Fig. l.

Like parts are designated by corresponding letters of reference in allthe figures.

The object of this invention is the production of an efficienthopper-valve capable of being readily repaired when worn. To attain thisresult, I construct my hopper-valve substantially of a body, A, similarto that of an ordinary globe-valve, as far as the location of the seatfor the valve is concerned, as well as the inlet B and outlet C, butdiffering from such globe-valve in having two branches, D D', at rightangles to the inlet and outlet branches, said branch D forming acylinder for a sliding piston, E, having a convex upper surface and asocket, c, for the reception of a valve-stem, F, the latter havingcentrally a collar, f, against which a rubber spherical valve, G, bears,said valve G being held in position by a washer, nut, or similarcontrivance, g, and a spring, H, interposed between the bottom piece, I,and said washer c, and holding said valve against said collar j' andthevalve-seat a. In the bottom piece, I, there is provided Va hollowprotuberance, t, acting as a guide for the lower end, f','of thevalve-stem F, said bottom piece having an internally-screw-threadedsocket, I', fitting the eXternally-screw-threaded branch D' of said bodyA. rlhe branch D is also externally screw-threaded to match the branchD', so that the body A may lit 'the bottom piece with either branch D orD', thereby making said body reversible for the object hereinaftermentioned. This branch D is fitted with a cap, K, having centrally anopening for the passage of the shank of a push-button, L, which shank isof tubular form to receive the end of the usual push-rod, M, which rodconnects the usual water-closet seat (not shown) with the hopper-valve,so as to open the latter whenever a person occupies the said seat, andthereby depresses the same.

A Between the cap K and the upper end of the branch D is interposed adiaphragm, N, consisting of a rubber disk, possessing sufficientleXibility to enable its being pressed into a concavo-convex shape, asshown in Figs. 2 and 3, said diaphragm preventing escape of liquidthrough the cap without the interposition of a stufng-box.

To the branches B O are screwed couplings O O', to which, in turn, theusual supply and hopper pipes (not shown) are connected. The body A hasoppositely-located nipples P P', one of which is always to be closed bya cap, Q, Fig. 3, so as to prevent a discharge of Water on the supplyside of the valve, while the one on the discharge side is to becontinually open to drain the water-connection between the valve andhopper whenever the closet-seat is unoccupied to prevent freezing.

In its normal condition theV valve is closed,l

the spiral spring H keeping the valve proper, G, against the bottom sideof the seat ct, and the water-supply being connected with coupling O andentering the body through B. If the valve G is depressed, so as toestablish `communication between the lower and upper halves of the bodyA, the water will pass to and through the branch O and coupling O' tothe Water-closet in a manner readily comprehended. It will now beobserved that by constructing the body A with the branches D D one ofthem will always be a cylinder for the piston E, so that should thelower portion of the valve-seat a or said cylinder be worn the body canbe readily disconnected and reversed, thereby presenting a new seat andcylinder, and thereby, furthermore, Inak- IOO ing immediate repairsanadvantage not to be attained by any other construction.

The valve proper, G, consists of a rubber sphere, which may also bereversed when Worn on one side, and can be replaced by a new one at buta trifiing expense. In some cases I prefer to construct the valveproper, G, as shown in Fig. 3, by providing the piston E with a leathercup-shaped packing, R, which packing will make the piston practicallywater-tight, so that should the rubber diaphragm II give out there willbe no escape of water on the upper side of the hopper-valve or cap K.This construction renders thc cost of manufacturing of this valve atrifle higher, but not enough so as to prevent its use Whenever a veryeiicient closet-valve is a desideratum and cost of but secondaryimportance.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure to ine by Letters Patent of the United States As an improvedarticle of manufacture, a hopper-valve consisting, essentially, of abody having cylinders D D', a valve-seat located centrally in said body,a cap and a bottom piece to close said cylinders, the former having apassage for the puslrbutton L, and a valve consisting' of a stem havinga curved top, E, a cup-shaped piston secured underneath said head byanut, and an elastic Valve proper located in the egress side of thecylinders, whereby the initial pressure of the liquid passing throughthe valve acting upon said piston will close the valve proper, as andfor the purpose set forth.

In testimony'th at I claim the foregoing as my invention I have heretoset my hand in the presence ol' two subscribing Witnesses.

(IIRISIAN UTURM.

Attest:

MICHAEL J. STARK, IVM. O. STARK.

